


The Engagement Ring

by Uchihas_rose



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 08:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14930645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uchihas_rose/pseuds/Uchihas_rose
Summary: When Jim comes back after his trial, Sebastian makes a deduction





	The Engagement Ring

Sebastian was sitting on the couch at their apartment at Conduit Street, sipping at a can of Whisky-coke and had his attention half ways turned towards the television when the door opened. He didn’t even bother looking at its direction – he knew who it was.

“Did you grow bored of your prison cell?”, he asked, putting the can down and shooting a sideways glance at Jim who had entered the room.

The consulting criminal closed the door and the noises from the brothel downstairs were shut down.

Sebastian checked the clock.

“You’re later than I expected”, he remarked before making room on the couch, so Jim could join him, “thought you’d be back an hour earlier.”

 “I had to… discuss a few things with Sherlock”, Jim responded, pulling the can out of Sebastian’s hands and taking a sip himself, “he had poured tea, I fear I have lost track of time… I presume, everything here has been settled?”

Sebastian just scoffed and took his can back, emptying it with one swallow.

“Your ‘lawyer’” – he made quotation marks in the air with his fingers – “or whatever remains of him is already down in the Thames. Couldn’t afford to lose time. I just had to wait until the area was clear – Watson was lingering around, phoning his smart-ass flatmate.”

Jim nodded. “Well, that was to be expected. I told you so beforehand, didn’t I?”

Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you did. Genius.”

 

He threw the empty can back on the table and sighed deeply.

“Breaking into the Tower of London, the Bank of England and the Pentonville prison”, he said, shaking his head slightly, “three robberies in one day, you’re getting arrested for them, your lawyer is even more dim-witted than any officer at Scotland Yard’s and still, the Napoleon of Crime manages to walk away from it… I think that one was your masterpiece, Jim.”

He didn’t bother hiding the impression in his voice. Sebastian Moran wasn’t easily impressed, plus, Jim put many magnificent schemes and plays, but this one…

This had been an outstanding performance.

 

Jim shrugged his shoulders and rested his back against Sebastian’s side.

“If you think that one to be extraordinary, tiger, wait ‘til you’ve seen the next scheme. Wait ‘til you’ve seen what I’ve got planned for Sherlock. It’ll take a few months preparation, though, but it’ll be _awesome_.”

Sebastian, who knew whenever Jim finished a sentence with _Awesome_ , one or more people were about to die and it would be his duty to perform at least one of the kills, just sighed and intertwined his fingers with Jim’s.

“I am sure it will”, he responded, gently caressing his lover’s fingers with his own, “and I’m pretty sure we’ll reach a point at which I am going to ask myself why I ever started working for you in the first place.”

“Because your way of living requires a constant flow of money of which you were cut short after your dishonorable discharge from the 1st Bangalore Pioneers, because I was in need of a shot and a right hand and the best offer”, Jim said, closing his eyes and enjoying Sebastian’s gentle strokes, starting to purr slightly. Sebastian just rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. He knew better than to respond. He was in no mood to continue this little “war” of snappy comebacks, not now, after he had been separated from his love for so long. While Jim had been in prison, Sebastian had barely slept. Mrs Halifax, their landlady, had offered to sent some of the girls upstairs to keep him company in Jim’s absence – on the house, of course – but Sebastian had refused her kindly. His days as predator were over ever since the man next to him had put his mark upon him for the first time.

A few weeks before Jim’s plan to “borrow” the Crown jewels, Sebastian had put his own mark on Jim, although Moriarty had been protesting against it for months, but at least, finally, he had accepted it…

   

Sebastian began to caress every single one of Jim’s fingers individually, until he reached his ring finger. He stopped for a moment, before touching the blank spot on his lover’s hand once more.

“Jim?”

Moriarty blinked up at him, looking fully innocent.

“Basher?”

“Where is your engagement ring?”

It had taken Sebastian months to get Jim finally agreeing to his proposal, he had chosen the ring with uttermost care – silver with a real diamond which he had paid with the last money from his official bank account, the one his father had opened for him all those years ago, not the account he had at Box Brothers, the criminal’s bank, where the money he earned in Jim’s service was transferred to. He had wanted to surprise Jim, there was no way he would have taken his earnings – money he literally got from Jim – to pay the latter’s engagement ring.

Jim had called it “ridiculous” and “too much”, “silly” and “stupid” but at last, he finally had agreed. In Jim’s opinion, they didn’t need to marry to have any proof of their affection towards each other but Sebastian had insisted, mainly because he was eager to see how Augustus Moran and Sebastian’s sisters would react towards Jim’s brothers, Colonel James Moriarty and Stationmaster James Moriarty. Having the three Moriarty-brothers together would be utterly disturbing to his father and Jim, who wasn’t overly fond of his brothers either, had agreed it would be a perfect nuisance to them all.

Probably, Jim and Sebastian were the first people in history simply to get wed to watch their family’s reactions on each other.

Ever since Jim had finally agreed to Sebastian’s proposal, he always wore the ring – even in front of their clients who knew better than to make any mention about it. Jim was very creative about getting rid of people who annoyed him or were on his bad side. Being shot dead and weighed down in the Thames like the lawyer was one of the kindest scenarios.

But he wasn’t wearing it now.

Jim avoided his glance.

“I might have put it in my jeans when I went to the tower. Maybe it fell out. Maybe the police kept it.”

Sebastian narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, I see. Why should Scotland Yard keep your engagement ring, Jim?”

The other man shrugged his shoulders. “How should I know? It’s Scotland Yard, they don’t think before they do anything. That’s why they need Sherlock to do the thinking for them.”

Sebastian stayed silent for a few moments. He remembered the day Jim had accepted his proposal and how he had revealed the ‘magnificent rule of three’ of his masterpiece: The Bank of England, the Pentonville prison and the Crown jewels.

The Crown jewels. Sitting behind unbreakable glass – unless you’d use crystallized carbon, or in other words…

Sebastian let go of Jim’s fingers and turned the consulting criminal around to look at his face.

“Listen up, because I am only going to ask you this once. Just once, alright?

 _James fucking Moriarty, did you use your engagement ring to get the bloody crown jewels?!_ ”  


End file.
